brain
Read/write brain files (Obsidian vault at brain/). Use for any task that persists knowledge — reflection, planning, or direct edits. Triggers: brain/ modifications, "add to brain".
Best use case
brain is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Read/write brain files (Obsidian vault at brain/). Use for any task that persists knowledge — reflection, planning, or direct edits. Triggers: brain/ modifications, "add to brain".
Teams using brain should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/brain/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How brain Compares
| Feature / Agent | brain | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Read/write brain files (Obsidian vault at brain/). Use for any task that persists knowledge — reflection, planning, or direct edits. Triggers: brain/ modifications, "add to brain".
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
# Brain Persistent memory across sessions. Obsidian vault at `brain/`. The brain is the foundation of the entire workflow — every agent, skill, and session reads it. Low-quality or speculative content degrades everything downstream. Before adding anything, ask: "Does this genuinely improve how the system operates?" If the answer isn't a clear yes, don't write it. ## Before Writing Read `brain/index.md` first. Then read the relevant entrypoint for your topic: - `brain/principles.md` for principle updates For directories without a dedicated index file yet, scan nearby files directly and edit an existing note when possible. ## Structure ``` brain/ ├── index.md <- root entry point, links to everything ├── principles.md <- index for principles/ ├── principles/ <- engineering and design principles ├── codebase/ <- project-specific knowledge and gotchas └── plans/ <- feature plans ``` **Rules:** - One topic per file. `brain/codebase/deploy-gotchas.md`, not a mega-file. - Maintain existing index entrypoints: `brain/index.md`, `brain/principles.md`. - If you introduce a new top-level category, add an index-style entrypoint for it (links only, no inlined content). - `brain/index.md` is the root. Every brain file must be reachable from it. - File names: lowercase, hyphenated. `worktree-gotchas.md`. ## Wikilinks Format: `[[section/file-name]]`. Resolution order: same directory, then relative path, then vault root. Heading anchors (`[[file#heading]]`) are stripped during resolution. ## Writing Style - Bullets over prose. No preamble. - Plain markdown with `# Title`. No Obsidian frontmatter. - Keep notes under ~50 lines. Split if longer. ## After Writing Update `brain/index.md` for any files you added or removed. Also update the relevant entrypoint when applicable. Keep indexes link-only and scannable. ## Durability Test Ask: "Would I include this in a prompt for a *different* task?" - **Yes** -> write to `brain/`. It's durable knowledge. - **No, it's plan-specific** -> update the plan's docs instead. - **No, it's a skill issue** -> update the skill file directly. - **No, it needs follow-up work** -> file a todo. ## Maintenance - Delete outdated or subsumed notes. - Merge overlapping notes before adding new ones.
Related Skills
ruminate
Mine past Claude Code conversations for uncaptured patterns, corrections, and knowledge. Cross-references with existing brain content. Triggers: "ruminate", "mine my history".
review
Principle-grounded review of code changes, PRs, or plans. Use when asked to review, critique, or assess quality of work — "review", "review this", "code review", "check this".
reflect
Reflect on the conversation and update the brain. Use when wrapping up, after mistakes or corrections, or when significant codebase knowledge was gained. Triggers: "reflect", "remember this".
plan
Break down medium-to-large tasks into phased plans in brain/plans/. Planning only — does not implement. Use for new features, multi-file refactors, or architectural changes — not small fixes. Triggers: "plan this", "break this down".
meditate
Audit and evolve the brain vault — prune outdated content, discover cross-cutting principles, review skills for structural encoding opportunities. Triggers: "meditate", "audit the brain".
multi-agent-brainstorming
Simulate a structured peer-review process using multiple specialized agents to validate designs, surface hidden assumptions, and identify failure modes before implementation.
brainstorming
Use before creative or constructive work (features, architecture, behavior). Transforms vague ideas into validated designs through disciplined reasoning and collaboration.
domain-name-brainstormer
Generates creative domain name ideas for your project and checks availability across multiple TLDs (.com, .io, .dev, .ai, etc.). Saves hours of brainstorming and manual checking.
scientific-brainstorming
Research ideation partner. Generate hypotheses, explore interdisciplinary connections, challenge assumptions, develop methodologies, identify research gaps, for creative scientific problem-solving.
brainstorming
You MUST use this before any creative work - creating features, building components, adding functionality, or modifying behavior. Explores user intent, requirements and design before implementation.
ce:brainstorm
Explore requirements and approaches through collaborative dialogue before writing a right-sized requirements document and planning implementation. Use for feature ideas, problem framing, when the user says 'let's brainstorm', or when they want to think through options before deciding what to build. Also use when a user describes a vague or ambitious feature request, asks 'what should we build', 'help me think through X', presents a problem with multiple valid solutions, or seems unsure about scope or direction — even if they don't explicitly ask to brainstorm.
product-brainstorming
Brainstorm product ideas, explore problem spaces, and challenge assumptions as a thinking partner. Use when exploring a new opportunity, generating solutions to a product problem, stress-testing an idea, or when a PM needs to think out loud with a sharp sparring partner before converging on a direction.